We recently analyzed a series of H5N1 viruses isolated from healthy ducks in southern China since 1999 and found that these viruses had progressively acquired the ability to replicate and cause disease in mice. In the present study, we explored the genetic basis of this change in host range by comparing two of the viruses that are genetically similar but differ in their ability to infect mice a...

The cap-dependent endonuclease activity of the influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase cleaves host mRNAs to produce capped RNA fragments for primers to initiate viral mRNA synthesis. The influenza A virus (FluA) cap-dependent endonuclease preferentially recognizes the cap1 structure (m(7)GpppNm). However, little is known about the substrate specificity of the influenza B virus (FluB) endo...

The influenza virus RNA genome is transcribed and replicated in the context of the viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complex by the viral RNA polymerase. The nucleoprotein (NP) is the structural component of the vRNP providing a scaffold for the viral RNA. In the vRNP as well as during transcription and replication the viral polymerase interacts with NP but it is unclear which parts of the polymer...

The expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in pancreatic islet beta cells modulates endocrine cell functions and, at very high levels of NO production causes beta-cell death. We tested the hypothesis that environmental factors such as heavy-metal salts modulate iNOS expression in beta cells. A rat beta-cell line (insulinoma RINm5F) was cultured in the presence of low-dose interleukin (IL)-1...

Transmission of influenza viruses into the human population requires surmounting barriers to cross-species infection. Changes in the influenza polymerase overcome one such barrier. Viruses isolated from birds generally contain polymerases with the avian-signature glutamic acid at amino acid 627 in the PB2 subunit. These polymerases display restricted activity in human cells. An adaptive change ...

Among divalent cations, the ionophore monensin shows high activity and selectivity for the transport of lead ions (Pb2+) across phospholipid membranes. When coadministered to rats that were receiving meso-dimercaptosuccinate for treatment of Pb intoxication, monensin significantly increased the amount of Pb removed from femur, brain, and heart. It showed a tendency to increase Pb removal from l...

A miniaturized lead sensor has been developed by combining a lead-specific DNAzyme with a microfabricated device containing a network of microfluidic channels that are fluidically coupled via a nanocapillary array interconnect. A DNAzyme construct, selective for cleavage in the presence of Pb2+ and derivatized with fluorophore (quencher) at the 5' (3') end of the substrate and enzyme strands, r...

Flavanols intake has been associated with reduced risk of cancer. In this study, the anticarcinogenic effects of the flavanols epicatechin (EC), epicatechin-gallate (ECG) and procyanidin B2 (PB2) on Caco-2 and SW480 colon cancer cells were investigated. Catechins showed different cytotoxicity depending on the cell line. ECG displayed strong growth inhibitory effects against SW480 cells, but was...

In the centrosymmetric dinuclear title compound, [Pb(2)(C(10)H(6)NO(2))(2)(CH(3)COO)(2)(C(2)H(5)OH)(2)], one O atom of the carboxyl-ate group of the quinoline-2-carboxyl-ate anion connects the two Pb(II) atoms. The Pb(II) atom is surrounded by four O atoms and one N atom in a Ψ-octa-hedral PbO(4)NE geometry (E is the electron lone pair). Two longer Pb⋯O inter-actions distort the geometry toward...

In this study, three types of sludge-derived biochars (BC1, BC2 and BC3) were prepared by 1) original sludge, 2) sludge after K2FeO4 conditioning, 3) acidification + conditioning. The results show that the biochar from conditioned has additional functional groups, its Pb2+ removal effect is greatly enhanced. concentration in effluent can be reduced to <0.06 μg/L. only remove at most 58.02% Pb2+...